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TD Helps World Pride Come to Toronto

Toronto was named the host city for World Pride 2014 - an
international arts and culture event. World Pride aims to promote
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues through
parades, festivals and a number of other activities.

The official announcement was made on October 18 from St.
Petersburg, Florida. Toronto’s bid presentation included
a video and public addresses by representatives of Pride Toronto,
Tourism Toronto, the Toronto Police Service and TD Bank Financial
Group. The final two cities vying to host World Pride were Toronto
and Stockholm, Sweden. Needing a two-thirds majority vote to win, a
second round of voting took place resulting in a resounding 78% yes
for Toronto.

“TD is the Premier Sponsor of Toronto’s
Pride Week and we are thrilled the city will be hosting this world
event,” said Scott Mullin, Vice President Government and
Community Relations, TD, who presented part of the bid.
“One of the key strengths of Toronto’s bid
was its collaborative approach to include a wide range of partners
such as organizers, major sponsors like TD, and the Toronto Police
Services.”

World Pride 2014 will also coincide with Pride
Toronto’s 30th anniversary year meaning the Pride
Toronto team will be busy planning festivities including:

An opening ceremony featuring a parade of nations

Three parades

An international human rights conference

A wall of remembrance in honour of the 45th anniversary of
Stonewall

An AIDS candlelight vigil

“Toronto’s Pride Week already attracts
over one million visitors, and with an extra 250,000 people
expected to attend World Pride in 2014, this monumental celebration
will spotlight Toronto as a leader in promoting diversity and
acceptance among all of our communities,” adds
Mullin.

This announcement was timely for TD’s Employee Pride
Network, which recently surpassed the 1000-member mark! Formed in
2005, the Network is comprised of employees from across TD in and
around eight Canadian cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, London,
Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Montreal. A ninth network
will soon be launched in Mississauga/Peel/Halton Region. The
network is open to all TD employees.

“The Pride Network keeps employees engaged and
informed on what’s happening at TD in the LGBT
community,” said Amin Sunderji, Senior Manager Corporate
Diversity at TD. “Over the past four years, our
membership has grown dramatically proving that we all know or work
with someone who is part of the LGBT community. World Pride 2014
will reinforce that point on an international
level.”